Hilarious musical numbers and gender-friendly jokes bring “Connie and Carla” to life.

Life-long buddies Connie and Carla share the same dream of being famous dinner theater singers and performers, but their lives aren’t moving in the direction they want.

The middle-aged females still live at home with their mothers while they perform for a snoring audience at the local airport lounge and their boyfriends are idiots.

Their dreams of becoming stars are cut short when they witness the murder of the only person who believes in them.

With the killers hot on their trail, the women decide to go to a place without any dinner or musical theater, and end up in L.A.

It is the perfect place for them to hide out, until they inadvertently walk into a “drag club” holding auditions for new entertainment.

Connie and Carla can’t resist the sound of the audience.

They dress up as men, dressing as women. Soon they are headlining at the club and receiving the recognition they deserve.

They become a huge hit in town and make the club more famous than expected.

Meanwhile, the killers come in contact with the women’s ex-boyfriends and convince them to find Connie and Carla and bring them back to the Midwest to meet them.

Connie falls in love with one of her gal-pal’s brothers; the only problem is that he isn’t gay.

With Connie still dressed in drag, there is no chance of ever fulfilling her heart’s desire.

The Michael Lembeck film is not only funny but also brings different movies and television shows into view; it’s Marilyn Monroe’s “Some Like It Hot” meets “Queer Eye For The Straight Guy.”

Nia Vardalos, who plays Connie, is funny in her own way and serious at the same time.

She keeps the viewers’ attention throughout the film with her sarcastic and witty remarks along with her crazy ideas; she’s also the bossy one of the relatioship between her and Carla.

Toni Collette plays the passive-aggressive, less esthetic, attention-craving Carla. She brings the character to a medium.

Vardalos and Collettte make the perfect combination for this film. Vardalos is sometimes overpowering and takes the whole show, which is a drawback. Collette is too passive and doesn’t show initiative.

The story line is a remake of “Some Like It Hot,” only the genders were switched.

This film puts an interesting twist to the meaning of the word “drag queen.”

From all the films that have been remade, this is one of the closest to the original.

It successfully matches the needs of 2004 and still manages to follow the original screenplay.

The film is overall fascinating and perfect for the actors involved, but it could have had a little more comedy to accentuate the seriousness of the plot.

“Connie and Carla” is more serious than it was advertised; the serious and comedic sides of the film involve all the actors but not only the main personalities.

The film is perfect for anyone looking to cry or laugh at men who dress and act in a way that only women can.

It’s a wonderful romantic comedy that is unlike any other which is suitable for couples going on a first date and is worth the whole $9.

“Connie and Carla” recieves four out of five stars. This movie is rated PG-13